Trappeze Pub

Hint: Raspberry ketchup = pure genius!

During a self-paced walking tour and pub crawl around Athens, we chose Trappeze (easily the best known beer bar in the area) to be our grub stop... and man, were we NOT disappointed!

It was a gorgeous day, so we opted for a spot on the patio... where we discovered dogs are welcome (so we brought ours to sit with us instead of the back of the Jeep where they were hanging within view).

As patios go, it's small (a facet of the infrastructure in the area)... but we found it very cozy.  We made friends with the tables to our left and right... chatted with passersby (who stop to pet the pups)... and got absolutely fantastic service (fast, friendly, and attentive)!

Their craft brew selection is great - and they even have smaller sampler-style pours for almost everything...... heaven for a beer nerd, like me, who loves to taste across a place's menu!  I can't stop typing with exclamation marks...

For food, we had our server pile on a bunch of appetizers.  We went with Belgian frittes, Asian pork tacos, pulled pork sliders, slider burgers, and beer-with-cheddar soup.  Not ONE thing on the menu was anything less than stellar... and it was all VERY well priced!

Note: the raspberry ketchup, that came with the frittes?  Yeah... amazing.  This is a MUST try.  Period.  They should sell the stuff to go...

I'm bumbed this place isn't closer to home in ATL...... but that won't stop us from making the trek out this way again, even if just for dinner and drinks at Trappeze!  ...!

Birdie A-1 waitress. Fantastic dinner celebrating my sons birthday. Live music topped it off. Beer selection probably best in Athens. Boiled peanuts delicious for an appetizer. Asian pork taco wonderful (and inexpensive). I really enjoyed the beer cheese soup. Really too much food. My son had the Steak frites - ordered medium and came out almost rare. Birdie literally ran it back to the kitchen and second time was medium. Fries with dipping sauce to die for (luckily they are not in Atlanta or I would be the size of a house after eating them often).

I stopped in at Trappeze Pub late on a Thursday night. I had been driving all day, my hotel was around the block, and I wanted something better that road food. This was an excellent choice. It was around 10 pm, so the place was kind of empty, but not worryingly so. I ordered a cheese plate for one, at $3.50, I couldn't pass it up. I had a choice of 3 or 4 cheeses and I went with a nice slice of Saint-Andre, a super rich brie. The plate also included crostini, walnuts, dried cranberries, sliced apples, and apricot preserves. Very satisfying. I also had a cup of French onion soup, which was good, and a giant quinoa salad with roasted sweet potatoes and a honey Dijon vinaigrette. I dreamed of that salad driving back to Chicago the following morning, it was that superbly delicious.

When all was said and done, I got all of that, plus a diet Coke for less than $20. The portion sizes were good and I felt it was decent value for the money. I was on my own that night, but the dim lighting and cozy tables and booths would make an excellent date location. I say thumbs up!